HEARST  JOURNALISM  AWARDS  PROGRAM

NEWS  RELEASE

HEARST  NATIONAL  WRITING  FINALISTS  ANNOUNCED

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the eight undergraduate college journalism students from around the country who will compete in the 50^th annual National Writing Championships of the Hearst Journalism Awards Program this June in New York City.

The finalists include six winners in monthly writing competitions and two entrants who placed twice in the top ten of competitions.  From the 633 writing entries that were submitted in this year’s writing competitions, eight finalists will participate in various spot assignments, competing for additional scholarship awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 in the Program's National Championships, held in New York City, June 8 - 12, 2010.

Also competing in the National Championships will be six photo finalists , five radio finalists and five television broadcast news finalists.

The 2010 National Writing Championship finalists are:

ANDREW  ASTLEFORD, University of Missouri

LISA  GARTNER, Northwestern University

ALLISON  GATLIN, Arizona State University

ANDREW R.  McGILL, Pennsylvania State University

HAYLEY  PETERSON, University of Georgia

NATHAN  ROTT, University of Montana

RACHEL  STARK, Indiana University

ROMAN  STUBBS, University of Montana

Judging the writing competition this year are:  Jeff Cohen, Executive Vice President and Editor, Houston Chronicle, TX;  Peter Bhatia, Editor, The Oregonian, Portland, OR; and Jennifer Sizemore, Vice President/Editor in Chief, MSNBC.com and Executive Producer, NBC News.

Presently, 110 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools are eligible to participate in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.  Funded and administered for 50 years by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Journalism Program awards more than $550,000 a year in scholarships, grants and stipends annually.

Contact: Jan Watten, program director

415-908-4560

jwatten@hearstfdn.org